by Joel Addington
Contributing Writer
Looking for a 4-foot-tall combination safe, exercise bike or office copier?
If so, Christmas could be coming early – seven days early in fact – at the City of Jacksonville’s auction next month.
The City holds two public auctions each year and the events are run by Weeks Auction Company, which decides where the bidding starts for each item.
The auctions provide the City with a way to rid itself of older, surplus equipment that’s been replaced, and at the same time beef up the general fund with a hefty deposit.
The last auction held June 26 raised about $338,000 after paying 6 percent of the total sales to the auction company. The auction held in September 2006 raised $650,000.
This year, the City is auctioning off 130 Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office squad cars (most with more than 100,000 miles), JSO uniforms, dozens of lawn mowers and other landscaping equipment, construction materials, a boat motor, computer hardware, office equipment and even exercise equipment from the gym at Cecil Field, just to name a few items.
“There’s a city ordinance that allows us to hold public auctions, which are very popular among the public,” explained Procurement Division Chief Michael Clapsaddle.
But, he said, there are also bigger ticket items, like a JSO airplane and two boats, which are bid separately.
“There’s a certain clientele for those,” said Clapsaddle. “We anticipate they will render higher dollars if we put them out to bid.”
Other times, the City holds auctions at a specific facility being closed or demolished; such was the case with Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Next month’s auction is set for Dec. 18 starting at 9 a.m. at the City’s surplus facility at 1096 N. McDuff Ave.
“It’s an all-day event,” said Ralph McCreary, procurement coordinator, adding that sometimes auctions go well into the evening. “I’ve been here until 8 or 9 (p.m.).”
Participants can register at the surplus facility the day before the auction between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. or the morning of the event. Once registered, buyers are taken around the surplus facility to bid on each item.
Some items, like computer CPUs or monitors, are bundled into sets of 10 or so and bid on in bulk.
After 26 years with the City and 12 years at the surplus lot, McCreary has seen a lot of stuff auctioned. The oddest were the hospital beds.
“We have all kinds of things,” said McCreary, who noted the buyers are pretty varied as well, ranging from business owners to dealers to private citizens.
“You’ll see someone buying a car for their teenager as well as someone buying 15 cars,” said Clapsaddle.
“A lot of people buy them and turn them into taxi cabs,” added McCreary. Using old City vehicles for other business uses is quite common, he said. When asked who might buy the big red trucks with “Jacksonville Fire and Rescue” painted on them, McCreary quickly said a landscaper might use them to carry his equipment.
“It’s pretty big,” he said.
However, the City is required by the same ordinance that permits the auction to accept bids from surrounding counties on surplus vehicles like the fire trucks and patrol cars. The counties have until Friday to make offers.
For more information about the auction, call Clapsaddle at 630-3682.